a few of my favorite things on sunday..

waking up at noon is a rare but amazing happening. this, followed by the consumption of lucky charms cereal is even better. but to top it off, spending time in prayer and reading together in the morning- our own church.

swapping clothes at buffalo exchange for money and a cool bookbag, dinner at the noodle house, browsing in our favorite shoe store- mint, followed by playing uno, hangman, and flashing a red lazer onto unsuspecting sidewalk passerby out of the window while they grapple, swat the air, and grunt at the light beam.

these events makes me realize why i love marcus so much, and that he's the only person i could ever do these things with and appreciate them as much as i do.

2 peter 1.5-11

now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.
for if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
for he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins.
therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.

falling whistles

http://www.fallingwhistles.com/

please check out the website for the congo aid nonprofit marcus and i both work for!

ooh, that smell.

katie smells like chicken farts.

big ones.



-marcus

he's like water in the desert

he makes me laugh and smile more than anyone.

the red pearl & inspiring our "counselors"

thursday night was wonderful.
marcus and i went to a restaurant called the "red pearl."
we got mongolian chicken, jasmine rice, lettuce wraps
with chicken, and strawberry lemonade.
we got mildly dressed up, and sat in a booth,
with the ambiance of red lighting, red walls, and geisha-girl-esque
artwork.
after we filled our bellies,
we walked around the gaslamp district where
the red pearl restaurant is situated. we went into
one of our favorite clothing stores- g-star,
where our friend alex used to work.
we ate a brownie icecream sundae at ghiradellis.
we went to urban outfitters. marcus bought
a pair of dark blue, but not navy, jeans. they
look good on his hind quarters :).
we walked home a total of about 2 miles
uphill mostly. it was a beautiful walk home
and all the city's lights lit up the path for us.

friday night, marcus and i biked about 4 miles
to our first christian pre-marriage counseling class.
part of the biking was uphill, and i was huffing
and puffing while marcus cheered me on!
once we arrived to the office, the counselors were baffled
because we didn't have any major problems!
they told us that most of the people who go to them,
go because they are having a marriage crisis!!
mama price gave us these
counseling sessions as a gift to help us with our marriage.
we thought it would be wise to go to these classes.
but at one point during the sessions, i said "are you
guys sure we even need to come to these classes-
i'm sensing you don't know what to do with us!"
they said they slightly aren't used to couples like us,
without an immediate crisis they can work
with to solve.
we sat together on a couch, our arms intertwined,
talking about our desire to live simple lives after Christ,
focused on loving our neighbor and God. we talked
about how we have a heart for africa, and vulnerable
people everywhere.
they were pretty inspired by us and it seemed like
we could have ended up counseling our "counselors."
we are going to go back again, focusing on
"hot topics" of marriage like:finances, children,
etc.
i am so glad marcus and i's love for eachother
and lifestyle is speaking to people and inspiring
them. praise be God!

leaving on a jetplane

yesterday, 8 of our friends from coatesville, pa (near philadelphia) departed their familiar surroundings and entered an airplane, on their way to a small zambian village called kaombe.

this village, this village is my love and my enemy. it is my nightmare and my dream-but mostly my dream. i cannot think about this village without being honest and saying that it was such a struggle to live there. sometimes i look back and wonder how in the world God sustained me through 2 years in the middle of that isolated village. but then i remember how big God is and that He can do anything through any one of us, as long as we are willing. and that i was.

despite it's difficulty, which gives my village it's spicy flavor, my village has a place in my heart that will never become vacant. this village is so dear to my heart.

i spent from april 2006-january 2008 (2 years) in this village. i lived in a hut with bugs and rats, drank water from a stream, spoke the Bemba tribal language, used candles to light up the night, excreted in a hole, woke up with the roosters crow at 5am and went to sleep with the sun at 7pm every day and night. i rode on oxcarts, bikes, hitched with 20 wheelers to nearby towns, ate a mushy substance called nshima with beans, leaves, and other dull flavored foods daily with my hands. i was surrounded by people who's skin was as dark as the night, some of whom's hearts could light up the night sky. these villagers were wild. they tried to steal from me, loved me, hated me, loved me, cheated me, loved me, called me names, loved me, were jealous of me for my money, white skin, and americana. i had not anticipated this at all. i pictured suffering people, dying of AIDS, when i thought of africa. people who my heart wept for, and i could not help but loving . not these feisty little buggers who wanted to rip me off all the time and called me "white girl." despite the craziness, i tried to love them through it all. i never imagined myself fighting to love people who live in such dire circumstances.

despite my complaints, it was the most amazing experience of my life thus far(only second to falling in love and getting engaged to marcus). i became friends with people who i know i will never forget and never loose contact with. people who i still talk on the phone with weekly (from the village). i was taught so many beautiful life lessons. i was taught patience, self confidence, boldness, assertiveness, love in a new way.

i was able to offer a few small things to my village too: i taught health to villagers- forming village health teachers that went on to educate their villages, formed an Anti-AIDS club with over 90 youth, helped women to use the arts as an income generating activity, and got to turn a run down bar into a community center called The Mango Tree. The Mango Tree gives jobs to 4 Zambians. It also allows people to grab a snack at the cafe, read books at the library (over 3,000 books), hosts many village club meetings, (including Bible studies, farming clubs, womens groups), is home to the village pre-school, has a soccer team, and allows a space for villagers to teach eachother, for example, fish pond building classes. It is a phenomal center and continues to grow.

The Mango Tree was built with the help of a nonprofit that sprang up after we built it, called "Hope Beyond Borders." "Hope Beyond Borders" is made up of folks from coatesville who are dedicated to helping urban and African poverty.

It is their intent to go back to my Zambian village, Kaombe every year. And tommorow they will return to the village one year later, after their initial trip in September 2007. They will hold lots of art, pastoral, AIDS, drug/alcohol classes at the Mango Tree. They are also giving a micro-economic loan of a minibus to the center. This minibus will generate tons more jobs for more Zambian villagers. It is going to be amazing.

Please pray for our friends in Zambia, and also the Zambians. shalom!

check out:
www.hopebeyondborders.org - hope beyond borders
http://www.dawnwalsh.com/photo/KAO%20FLASH/index.html - photos of kaombe village by dawn walsh